The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to a drive carrier for coupling drives to an information handing system
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems such as, for example, storage systems, sometimes include drive enclosures that are configured to house a plurality of storage drives such as, for example, hard disk drives, solid state drives, and/or other storage drives known in the art. For example, some servers such as 4U servers available from Dell, Inc. of Round Rock, Tex., United States, may include up to 90 hard disk drives as a storage system for the server, and such dense systems limit the space available for drive coupling features in order to allow airflow to pass through the system. Typically, those drives are coupled to respective drive carriers that include a coupling mechanism that is configured to engage the drive enclosure to couple the drive to the drive enclosure. Conventional drive carriers for such dense systems typically include a single handle that has a cam mechanism and that is rotatable connected to the drive carrier via a single hinge on a side of the drive carrier. When coupling a drive to the drive enclosure, the drive and drive carrier combination is inserted into a drive slot defined by the drive enclosure while the handle on the drive carrier is oriented at approximately a 45 degree angle relative to a front surface of the drive such that the cam mechanism does not extend from a side of the drive carrier, which allows the drive and drive carrier combination to be inserted into a drive slot. When the drive and drive carrier combination is seated in the drive slot, the handle on the drive carrier is then rotated about the single hinge such that the engagement of the cam mechanism and the drive enclosure results in a securing cam action that secures the drive and drive carrier combination in the drive enclosure (e.g., typically with the handle at a 0 degree angle relative to the front surface of the drive). Securing of the drive and drive carrier combination in the drive enclosure may include the handle on the drive carrier engaging a handle latch on the drive carrier that prevents rotation of the handle.
When removing the drive and drive carrier combination from the drive enclosure, a user will typically release the handle latch to allow rotation of the handle on the drive carrier. The handle on the drive carrier is then rotated about the single hinge such that the engagement of the cam mechanism and the drive enclosure changes from the securing cam action to a release cam action that causes the drive and drive carrier combination to move partially out of the drive slot, which is intended to enable the user to grasp the portion of the drive and drive carrier combination to remove it from the drive slot. However, it has been found that users tend to grasp the handle to remove the drive and drive carrier combination from the drive slot, which can damage the handle and the single hinge. Furthermore, it has been found that users tend to over-rotate the handle (e.g., greater than 45 degrees) when removing the drive and drive carrier combination from the drive slot, which can also damage the handle and the single hinge, while also causing the side of the drive chassis to engage the drive enclosure and making it harder to remove the drive and drive chassis combination from the drive slot due to friction between the two.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved drive chassis coupling system